Successful Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy In Pregnancy

A pregnant woman with cervical cancer has been treated successfully with neoadjuvant cisplatin chemotherapy, in order to stabilize her cancer so that surgery could be delayed until fetal maturation. The case study, reported in the June 2007 issue of Nature Clinical Practice Oncology, is one of the first reports showing successful treatment using a weekly cisplatin regimen during pregnancy.

Cervical cancer is the most common malignancy encountered during pregnancy, and poses major challenges to the patient and fetus. When the disease complicates pregnancy, both maternal and fetal considerations determine the management approach. Cisplatin remains one of the most active chemotherapeutic agents for cervical cancer, but data on its use during pregnancy are limited.

Christine Holschneider and colleagues describe the case of a 28-year-old woman who presented with a poorly-differentiated cervical cancer at 23 weeks gestation. The patient was treated with weekly neoadjuvant - that is, given before the main surgical treatment - cisplatin chemotherapy until 30 weeks gestation. She subsequently received radical surgical treatment at 33 weeks gestation, once the fetus had matured. The authors discuss the treatment and management options for women diagnosed with cervical cancer during pregnancy, and highlight the merits of using neoadjuvant chemotherapy to intentionally delay surgery.